OKLAHOMA CITY — Karl-Anthony Towns’ market bump in the All-Star voting didn’t go unnoticed by his teammate.
“KAT, you see the difference between New York and Minnesota?” Josh Hart said Friday morning before the Knicks’ 117-107 loss to the Thunder. “Difference of a million.”
Towns, who had 17 points and 22 rebounds in the loss, received roughly 1.1 million votes in the first returns of the fan All-Star ballot, the third-highest in the East behind just Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum.
Last year with the Timberwolves, Towns only accumulated just 139,642 votes in the first round of fan voting.
So it’s not quite a million, but close enough.
“Geographical differences,” Towns, a four-time All-Star but never a starter, answered Hart.
The other difference is Towns’ statistics have skyrocketed this season with the Knicks, where he entered Friday on pace to average a career-high in rebounds (13.7), field-goal percentage (54.8 percent), 3-point percentage (44 percent) and hit his highest points per game output (24.9) since pre-pandemic.
But as Towns enjoys a big-market leap, Jalen Brunson remained curiously underappreciated by the fans with just 477,253 votes — good for seventh in the East and roughly half the total for LaMelo Ball.
Fan voting ends Jan. 20.
Brunson finished ninth in the East last year but was named a reserve. Assuming he doesn’t crack the top-2 in fan voting for the East backcourt, Brunson can still theoretically nab a starting spot by winning the votes from coaches and players (they account for 25 percent apiece, while fan voting is 50 percent).
Either way, the Knicks, riding a nine-game winning streak heading into Friday’s marquee showdown against the Thunder, are expected to get two All-Stars.
At least.
They have three other potential candidates in the starting lineup but Josh Hart, who leads the team in triple-doubles, scoffed at his candidacy.
“I can get an All-Star? Hell no,” he said. “I feel like [coaches] appreciate what I do but like I said, my game is not glitz and glamour that breeds that kind of accolade. And I’m fine with that. I’m a servant to these guys [Brunson, Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby]. I want to make sure they’re good. I want them to get the accolades.”
Hart also has tropical plans for All-Star weekend, which is being held this year in San Francisco.
“I want to have my toes touch some sand come February,” he said, adding that an All-Star nod would nonetheless “be amazing for me and role players.
He has a vote from Towns.
“Josh Hart for All-Star,” the center said. “I want his weekend ruined.”